More proof that European austerity isn’t working

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by Thom Hartmann A...

Jun. 21, 2012 8:57 am

A new report by Eurostat – the EU’s official statistics agency – found that countries that didn’t adopt austerity have seen gains in household consumption and economic activity – while countries that have adopted austerity are watching consumption fall and their economies stagnate.

For example, Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Ireland have all seen their household consumption fall below the EU average since passing austerity spending cuts. Less household consumption means people are spending less money and businesses are hiring fewer workers. But Finland, Austria, and Germany – countries that didn’t inflict austerity on their people – all have seen household consumption grow – and are well above the EU average.

This shouldn’t be too surprising, since austerity is meant to shrink economies, which is why Republicans in the United States are champions for austerity – they want the economy to tank.

Comments

re: More proof that European austerity isn’t working

by Karolina

Jun. 21, 2012 10:22 am

All people in power know that austerity does not help economy. That "Austerity Show" that they put on in our Congress is done purely to weaken the people, and kill the ones who are vulnerable and need help.

Except, of course, no killing of fetuses who might be good laborers and later breeders for a while—if they manage to stay alive 'till they can walk and talk.

re: More proof that European austerity isn’t working

Experts say the reduction in extreme poverty is due to the Sandinista government’s mutual cooperation with Western aid institutions, instead of the traditional debt-dependency model usually imposed on developing countries.

Western aid institutions have been criticized for dominating domestic policies in favor of Western corporate interests as a condition of providing aid.